If you have been in this business long enough, you have seen a sale that looked great on the day it was booked and became a problem everyone else had to carry.

High school students have long been told that the clearest path to a rewarding career is to head to college and graduate with a four-year degree. While higher education still matters to many graduates, today’s labor market is challenging the idea that there is only one path.

Evin Jarrett doesn’t wait to talk up the skilled trades with high schoolers. No, he’s got fourth-graders soldering pipe inside his classroom at Mayfair Elementary, Philadelphia’s second-largest elementary school.

When home service contractors talk about technician retention, the conversation usually centers on pay, benefits, training and opportunities for advancement.

Before setting profitable selling prices, you must identify and calculate all the tangible and intangible expenses required to operate your business.

Two supply house owners are in a similar situation but end up with different outcomes.

People do matter, even more so now in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). My family is acutely aware of this, and they often have asked, “Why do you talk to people?” 

About 25 years ago, I rode with a sales rep in the Midwest who worked for an industrial distributor.

A new employee is trying to figure out how to log into the company training portal again, someone got a splinter from a pallet, a driver called out sick, and three trucks backed up to your dock to be unloaded at the same time, one with an appointment and two without.

“Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.” You may recognize this famous line from “Top Gun,” starring Tom Cruise as Navy pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.